Smoked-salmon Duchesses

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Small saucepan for the maigre jelly
• •Medium heavy saucepan and wooden spoon for the Choux
• •Baking sheet, parchment, and wire cooling rack
• •Food processor or powerful mini chopper
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Two piping bags with ½-inch (12 mm) and ¼-inch (6 mm) plain tips
• •Soft pastry brush
• •Instant-read thermometer, optional

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the maigre jelly

   Sprinkle the fish gelatin evenly over the cold water and leave it for 5 minutes to bloom. Bring the fish stock and wine to a lively simmer in a small saucepan, skimming rather than stirring if foam rises, and reduce them to ¾ cup (180 ml). Remove the pan from the heat, add the bloomed gelatin and lemon juice, and stir gently until completely dissolved. Taste before adding salt, since fish stock may already carry enough. Strain the liquid through a damp, fine cloth into a shallow dish and chill until softly set, about 1½ hours. Fish gelatin keeps this a true maigre jelly; ordinary pork or beef gelatin would set it, but it would change the meaning of the dish.

   Keep the jelly clear by simmering gently and never whisking it. Bubbles and sediment are the enemies of the glassy finish.
2. 2

   Cook the panade

   Heat the oven to 400°F (200°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment. Put the water, butter, and salt for the Choux in a medium saucepan and bring them to a full boil so the butter is melted before much water escapes. Take the pan briefly off the heat, add all the flour at once, and beat firmly with a wooden spoon until no dry flour remains. Return it to medium heat and work the panade for 2 to 3 minutes, until it gathers into a smooth ball and leaves a thin film across the pan. That drying matters: a wet panade cannot hold enough egg to rise properly.

3. 3

   Add eggs carefully

   Transfer the panade to a bowl and beat it for 2 minutes so fierce heat escapes. Add about three-quarters of the beaten egg in several additions, beating each one fully into the paste before adding more. Continue by teaspoonfuls until the paste is glossy and falls slowly from the spoon in a broad V; you may not need the final spoonful. Stop there. A stiff paste makes squat Choux, while a loose one spreads, and raw flour cannot repair it. Testing the consistency before the last egg is patience, not fuss.

4. 4

   Bake the Choux dry

   Pipe or spoon 24 mounds, each about 1 inch (2.5 cm) wide, leaving 1½ inches (4 cm) between them. Flatten sharp peaks with a damp fingertip. Bake for 15 minutes without opening the oven, then lower the heat to 350°F (180°C) and bake for another 10 to 12 minutes, until the Choux are deeply golden, light in the hand, and firm at the sides. Pierce each base with a skewer and return them to the switched-off oven with its door ajar for 5 minutes. If they begin to sink or feel damp inside, put them back at 350°F (180°C) for another 5 to 8 minutes after piercing. Ça se rattrape. Cool completely on a rack.

5. 5

   Purée the salmon butter

   Process the chilled smoked salmon until it forms a very fine paste, scraping the bowl often. Add the softened butter in four additions and process only until the mixture is smooth, evenly rose-colored, and free of visible butter streaks. Press it once through a fine-mesh sieve; the brigade might have pounded and sieved it repeatedly, but the processor followed by one careful pass gives the same silken intent at home. If the purée turns shiny or greasy, set the bowl over ice and beat it until it closes into a smooth emulsion again.

6. 6

   Fill and chill

   Make a small opening in the base of each cooled Choux. Spoon the salmon butter into a piping bag fitted with a narrow plain tip and fill each shell until it feels pleasantly weighty but does not split. Wipe the bases clean, arrange the filled Duchesses on a cold tray, and chill them uncovered for 30 minutes. This firmness is essential: warm filling softens the pastry and melts beneath the jelly.

7. 7

   Glaze at nappage

   Cut the set maigre jelly into pieces and put them in a clean bowl over barely warm water. Stir just until the jelly melts, then remove the bowl and let it cool to about 72 to 75°F (22 to 24°C), when it coats a spoon like light honey. Set the cold Duchesses on a rack over a chilled tray and brush each one all over with a thin coat. Chill for 10 minutes, then apply a second coat for a clear, even gloss. If the jelly slides off, it is too warm, so chill it for a few minutes; if it clings in ropes or lumps, warm it by degrees over the water. Ça se rattrape. Never pour hot jelly over salmon butter.

8. 8

   Serve very cold

   Chill the glazed Duchesses for at least 30 minutes, then transfer them to a cold platter without stacking them. Serve directly from the refrigerator while the jelly is clear and trembling, the filling firm, and the Choux still delicate beneath it. Keep them cold until the guests arrive and do not leave smoked salmon at room temperature for longer than 2 hours. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Use cold-smoked salmon, not hot-smoked salmon. Cold-smoked slices become a smooth, rose-colored purée; hot-smoked fish flakes and gives an entirely different filling. Neat slices are unnecessary, so good smoked-salmon trimmings are ideal.
• •The equal weights of salmon and butter are deliberate. Less butter makes a salty fish paste rather than the supple classical purée the Choux require. We don't apologize for butter.
• •For a true maigre jelly, buy fish gelatin with a stated strength near 200 bloom. Standard unflavored gelatin behaves similarly, but gelatin made from pork or beef no longer belongs to the fast-day preparation named by the source.
• •A thermometer makes the glazing calm work: aim for 72 to 75°F (22 to 24°C). Without one, touch the outside of the bowl. It should feel cool, never warm, and the jelly should fall from the spoon in a continuous translucent ribbon.
• •Pour a very dry Champagne or a lean Chablis. The acidity clears the butter from the palate and leaves the smoked salmon tasting clean.

Advance Preparation

• •The maigre jelly can be made up to 3 days ahead, covered and refrigerated. Melt it gently and return it to nappage consistency before glazing.
• •Bake the empty Choux a day ahead and keep them airtight once completely cool. Refresh them for 5 minutes at 350°F (180°C), then cool them fully before filling.
• •The salmon butter can be made a day ahead and kept covered in the refrigerator. Let it soften only until pipeable, then return the filled Duchesses promptly to the cold.
• •For the best contrast between shell and filling, assemble and glaze the Duchesses no more than 4 hours before serving. Hold them uncovered in the refrigerator so their clear finish stays intact.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 115g)